The Smile
by NCISVILLE
Summary: "You're doing it again." "Doing what?" "The smile."


The Smile

"You're doing it again." He said without looking up from his book.

"Doing what?" She asked curiously, setting her own book down onto her lap.

"The smile." The Doctor replied meeting her inquisitive look.

"What?" Clara's eyebrows furrowed together.

"You're smiling, but you're sad." He explained. "It's confusing, why are you smiling if you're sad and why were you looking at me?"

Busted. She didn't know he'd seen her looking at him from over the lip of her book. He looked genuinely confused and seeking to learn why she was both sad and smiling. He put his book down as she took a deep breath. "It's…I was just thinking about you and when you changed and how we've grown and changed too."

"And that makes you sad?" He asked with a frown, one eyebrow quirked up.

"No, no, but the regrets I have make me sad. And the way you see me but don't see me makes me sad." She tried to explain. The Doctor quickly stood from his chair, offended at her accusation.

"Of course I see you Clara! I always see you."

"Then how do you miss how I feel about you?" Clara looked up at him, hurt in her eyes.

"Clara Oswald, what in sanity's name are you going on about?" He was towering over her now, just inches from where she sat.

"It doesn't matter Doctor." She sighed. "Just…let's just go back to reading." She picked her book back up and tried to focus on the words but before she could the book was plucked from her hands and tossed carelessly. "Doctor!" She protested indignantly, now standing. That had been her signed copy from Jane Austen.

"No. We're talking. What do you mean, I don't see how you feel about me? You show me everyday. I know how much you care about me, you're my best friend."

"Yeah well that's just it, because you're more than just my best friend. You're the man I'm in love with."

His eyes softened from the impact of her statement and if she didn't know better she would have said affection was in his eyes being directed to her. A smile slowly began to take over his face and her pulled her into a hug.

"Please, Doctor. Don't do this. I don't need the 'I love you too but just as a friend' hug." Clara sighed, keeping her arms at her sides. He pulled back from embracing her, hands still on her arms and looked at her as though she'd suddenly grown another limb.

"Is that what you thought I was doing? Now who's not seeing who?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?" She asked properly befuddled.

"I'm in love with you too Clara! I just was waiting for you to say it so I knew it was okay if I said it."

"Doctor!" She said shoving his shoulder. "That's when you should have kissed me, not hugged me!"

"Oh, well I didn't know if it was okay to do that. I didn't want you to feel like I was forcing myself on you. I mean can you imagine if some pudding brain had seen me do that? They would have thought I was harassing you." He explained mentally kicking himself for not having just done what he felt he should have.

"Not when they saw me kissing you back you daft idiot!" She yelled pushing on his shoulder again.

"You know your actions and words are sending very mixed signals here. Are you malfunctioning? How on earth you humans ever survive a relationship is quickly becoming very admirable." He said now distracted.

"Oh bloody shut up and kiss me Doctor! It's okay to make the first move." She assured, frustrated that he'd yet to kiss her still.

He smiled and pulled on her arm until she crashed into him. "You're a riddle I intend to spend the rest of this life solving Clara Oswald."

"For the love of God kiss me already." She commanded just above a whisper, one hand going into his hair and playing with the grey floof she adored.

The Doctor smiled and leaned his head down watching as her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation. He felt the hitch of her breath on his upper lip and his smile widened just a fraction before he pressed his lips against hers. It was so soft and tender in it's first few seconds but Clara quickly changed the tone and began ravish his mouth, unable to satisfy her taste for him. For the longest second he didn't mind for once that Clara was a control freak. The way she had taken control of their kiss left him with no qualms and butterflies in his stomach. She was the one to break their kiss first and he suspected it had something to do with the fact she had half the amount of air capacity in her lungs than he did.

This time the smile on her face reached her eyes and there was no trace of sadness, only delight and amazement. He loved that that look was directed at him, that he was responsible for making her look at him as though he was the sun, moon, and stars. In that moment he resolved to only ever be responsible for putting that kind of smile on her face. Not the one that had troubled him earlier. He banished that smile and was keen on making sure it never returned and that he was never again the recipient.

XxxxXXxxxEndxxxXXxxxX


End file.
